GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is also known as Steve Spurrier/Florida Field. Tennessee's Neyland Stadium is located at 1235 Phillip Fulmer Way.
The Spurrier-Fulmer matchups in the 1990s were must-see TV unless you had a ticket. If so, you found your seat in the stadium for those games when both programs consistently competed for national titles.
In fact, when the Gators and Vols meet Saturday night at Neyland Stadium, the 1998 Tennessee team that won the national title is being honored on the 20-year anniversary of Fulmer's shining moment as head coach. That was the year the schools played the only overtime game in their storied rivalry. After UT kicker Jeff Hall hit a 41-yard field goal on Tennessee's first overtime possession, Florida's Collins Cooper missed wide left, sending the Vols on their way with a 20-17 victory.
Still, the Gators (2-1, 0-1 SEC) have dominated the series, winning 22 of 28 games against the Vols (2-1, 0-0) since Spurrier returned to his alma mater in 1990 and elevated the program to previously unforeseen heights.
Saturday's game (7 p.m., ESPN) between the Southeastern Conference rivals has a coaching twist of its own. For only the second time in 48 all-time meetings, both schools enter the game with first-year head coaches: Dan Mullen at Florida and Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee.
Both could use a victory to offer additional hope to a pair of fan bases that suffered through losing seasons a year ago.
Mullen defeated the Vols in his only game against them as a head coach, leading Mississippi State to a 41-31 home win in 2012. As UF's offensive coordinator from 2005-08, Mullen left the stadium victorious four consecutive years.
He does have one Tennessee memory he'd soon forget: a 34-33 loss to the '98 Vols in the season opener while as a graduate assistant at Syracuse.
"There was a very questionable – very questionable – pass interference call," Mullen recalled this week. "I don't know who the officials were in that game – statute of limitations are up – but it was a very questionable call that gave them a first down when we could have taken a knee to win the game."
Mullen's memory is good. On fourth-and-7, Vols quarterback Tee Martin's pass to Cedrick Wilson inside the Carrier Dome was ruled incomplete. However, the back judge called interference and Tennessee received new life. The Vols won on a field goal – yep, Hall delivered an early sign of what was to come – with four seconds left.
Meanwhile, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt was defensive backs coach at Plainview (Ala.) High 20 years ago, working under his father, Dale, who was Plainview's head coach at the time.
Pruitt arrived in Knoxville fresh off winning a national title last season as Alabama's defensive coordinator, taking over a program that went winless in the SEC for the first time in school history last year.
Like Mullen, Pruitt is trying to figure out what kind of team he has and expects Saturday to provide more answers. As for the rivalry, he gets why regardless of the shade of orange fans wear, this game matters.
"When I was growing up, I always loved to watch it — always a lot of passion with both fan bases, a lot of tradition," Pruitt said. "I'm thankful to have the chance to be a part of it."
If Mullen and Pruitt succeed in their new jobs, future Florida-Tennessee games might elicit memories of days gone by in a different way than a 20-year anniversary.
In this week's edition of The Opening Kickoff, here is a closer look at the Florida-Tennessee matchup:
THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS RUNNING BACK LAMICAL PERINE
Q:What's it like to have Coach Mullen use 'Rocky Top' in the music rotation at practice to get ready for Saturday? Lamical Perine A: Oh yeah … when we go against the scouts, it's all he's been playing, 'Rocky Top.' I'm getting pretty tired of it. I don't want them to score at all. Need our defense to step up and shut them out.
Q:What stands out about Tennessee from what you have seen on film?
A: Their special teams stands out to me and they gotta pretty sound defense, so I'm pretty sure guys like Coach Rumph over there, coaching that D-line up to try to get after us, you know it's going to be a pretty good game.
Q:How do things change with running back Malik Davis out for you guys?
A: That's such a bad loss. I mean we gotta do what we gotta do for the team man, and for Malik, and just go hard for him. We know if he was out here he'd give it his all so we going to do the same thing.
THREE STORYLINES
Georgia is ranked No. 2. Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina received votes this week in the AP Top 25. Vanderbilt gave Notre Dame all it could handle. Where do the Gators and Vols stack up in the SEC East? This game should shed some light on that question as the conference schedule heats up.
A pair of redshirt sophomore quarterbacks, Florida's Feleipe Franks and Tennessee's Jarrett Guarantano, figure to factor prominently into this matchup. Both are young and relatively raw, but if either has a breakout performance from start to finish, it would be a good sign for the winning team.
Can the Gators turn up their pass rush against a suspect Vols offensive line? Left tackle Trey Smith is on the Outland Trophy Watch List, but he can't do it alone. Senior Cece Jefferson returned in last week's win over Colorado State and perhaps will be motivated to show his ex-position coach, Vols assistant Chris Rumph, that he came to play.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Florida's depth at running back has taken a hit the past two weeks with the departure of Adarius Lemons and broken foot suffered by Malik Davis. Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine are a nice 1-2 punch, but freshman Dameon Pierce seems primed to get his share of opportunities as the team's top rusher.
Junior linebacker David Reese, who led the Gators with 102 tackles a season ago, is expected to make his season debut after missing three games due to a high ankle sprain. Could be good timing with Tennessee sophomore Ty Chandler coming off a career-high 158-yard performance in last week's win over UTEP.
UF receiver Van Jefferson is no stranger to hostile environments having played at LSU, Alabama and Auburn during his two seasons at Ole Miss. Jefferson leads the Gators with three touchdown catches and will be a focus of Tennessee's defense.
THREE DIGITS
3 –Blocked kicks/punts for the Gators in their first three games under Dan Mullen. 4 – Blocked kicks/punts for the Gators over the previous five seasons (2013-17). 5 –National championships won by Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, four as an assistant at Alabama (2009, '11, '12, '17) and one as Florida State's defensive coordinator (2013).
"He's very multiple on defense. They're going to give you a multitude of different looks. There's a lot of similarities between their defense and our defense, so we go up against a similar style of defense. He's going to bring different pressures, different coverage looks, different fronts." – Gators coach Dan Mullen on Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt's defensive tendencies during his career as an SEC coordinator
"They're really good on special teams. Dan's teams always have been. They're very creative in all phases. They'll block punts, they'll fake punts, they're good in the return game." – Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt on Gators
"My brother used to always tell me, 'Tennessee is the game to go to, if you're going to pick an away game to go to, that's always the craziest stadium.' So I've always known about the rivalry, always known it's a big game." – Gators receiver Josh Hammond
"I think Trey Dean is going be one of the best corners in the country down the line. He's helped me out a lot. He's doing great in practice. He's taken on a role, being a starter well, so you know, I'm excited for him. He did well. He just gotta keep it going." – Gators receiver Van Jefferson on UF's freshman cornerback
"Sold-out crowd, 100-some thousand. Can't ask for anything more. Night game. Rivalry game. The atmosphere is going to be crazy." – Vols running back Madre London on his first UF-UT game
The Florida-Tennessee rivalry asserted itself as one of college football's top games in the 1990s. Still, the rivalry is more lopsided than you might expect since the Southeastern Conference split into divisions in 1992. A look at Florida's record against opponents it has played every season since '92:
SCHOOL
UF RECORD
WIN PERCENTAGE
Florida State
11-16-1
.393*
LSU
15-11
.577
Georgia
19-7
.730
South Carolina
20-6
.769
Tennessee
20-6
.769
Vanderbilt
25-1
.962
Kentucky
26-1
.963+
OVERALL
136-48-1
.735
*Includes two bowl games; +Includes 2018 game
NEWS, NOTES, NUGGETS
Florida seeks to defeat the Vols for the 13th time in the last 14 meetings and is 12-12 all-time at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Gators the last time the teams met in Knoxville in 2016.
This is the first meeting between the schools under first-year head coaches since 1970 when the Vols, led by Bill Battle, defeated Doug Dickey's Gators 38-7 at Neyland Stadium.
Gators punt returner Freddie Swain, who had an 85-yard return for a touchdown against Colorado State, ranks fifth in the country in return average (29.8 yards on five returns).
Tennessee has lost nine consecutive SEC games, last beating a conference foe with a 63-37 win over Missouri on Nov. 19, 2016.
Junior defensive end Jabari Zuniga leads the Gators with 3.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks against Colorado State, earning him SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.
Freshman kicker Evan McPherson has performed well at UF's starting kicker, hitting all 11 extra-point attempts and connecting on 5 of 6 field goals.
Redshirt junior receiver Jauan Jennings is back with the Vols after getting kicked off the team late last season by then-interim coach Brady Hoke for a profanity-laced video rant aimed at the coaching staff. Jennings played only one game last season after suffering a dislocated wrist in the season opener. Two years ago, he caught three passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns against the Gators.
Vols running back Ty Chandler's 81-yard scoring run against UTEP last week was the longest run for a Tennessee player since LaMarcus Coker went 87 yards against Vanderbilt in 2006.
Former Florida State defensive coordinator Charles Kelly is in his first season as Tennessee's safeties coach/special teams coordinator. Another Vols assistant who has experience against the Gators is running backs coach Chris Weinke, the 2000 Heisman winner with the Seminoles.
Gators assistants Larry Scott and Charlton Warren were on Tennessee's staff last season and ex-UF assistant Chris Rumph is in his first season at the Vols' co-defensive coordinator.
THE OTHER SIDE
Tennessee turned to its basketball star to narrate the school's hype video for Saturday night's showdown against the Gators at Neyland Stadium.
Senior forward Admiral Schofield, a second-team All-SEC pick last season, sets the stage by quoting Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield at the start of the segment.
Or he tried to quote Mayfield.
Mayfield played at Neyland Stadium when he led Oklahoma to a double-overtime win over the Vols in 2015 and the place made an impression on him. You can check out the video below:
BOTTOM LINE
This Florida-Tennessee game is like most matchups between these two in recent years. Two proud programs in search of the consistent excellence that defined the programs throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. Times change. Each program could use a win Saturday to help boost the outlook for the rest of the season in what is shaping up to be a much-improved SEC East. Florida is a 4.5-point favorite on the road, which doesn't say much for what those in the desert think about the Vols. ESPN.com's Matchup Predictor has the Gators' chances of winning at 70 percent. This has the feel of a coin-flip game, but so has a few recent Florida-Tennessee games and the Gators seem to find a way to win nearly every time. The guess here is that the familiar trend continues.
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